Victor Appleton

“ Brawn is not to be scorned,” said the man, when the motor-car stood upon its four wheels on the road. “It is not so good like brains—no, no. But if one has not the brains and the learning, it is well to be a mechanic, yes?”
Mary grew rosy-red at that. She considered it an insult to Tom Swift. She might have said something sharp, but her friend interposed, with a grin:
“They say that a man with brains alone on a desert island will live where a dull man, possessing only strength, would die. ”

“ We may get through this cave and find ourselves far up in these mountains of ice. We will have difficulty in lowering ourselves down into that gorge where the plane is. Don’t bother with this bear. Let us go on.”
“By jinks!” exclaimed Ned. “They say every cloud has a silver lining. It is so blamed dark right now that I cannot see any silver behind this cloud.”
“Cheer up!” cried Tom, his own voice changing with an effort. “Lead ahead, Koku. Give me that torch, Ned. Look out where you step. There may be fissures here, or sink-holes, to fall into. Have a care, Koku.” ”

“ Tom Swift asked.
“To a place called Shopton. Do you know it?”
“We live there,” said the young inventor briskly. “It is not far. If nobody else comes along, the young lady will drive you in my runabout. I will stay until help comes for the car. Or, maybe, we can get it out of the mud ourselves.”
“Ach! Not me!” cried the stranger. “I must not soil or injure my hands. I do not lift weights. I am not here to strain my muscles and rack my nerves for such things as this. Ach, no!”
Tom and Mary stared at each other. They did not know whether to be amused or disgusted with the stranger. ”

“ But the giant remained rooted where he had landed upon the sandy beach. Almost at his feet, floating on the surface of the quiet water, was a polished piece of hollow bamboo to which a pair of inflated bladders was attached—one on either side of the stick.
“Mars’ Tom!” shrieked Eradicate Sampson.
“Master no bear—what you say!” exclaimed Koku angrily. “Koku jump on him, he be all smashed up. Rad old fool!”
[Pg 54]
“Hey!” cried Tom Swift, with some heat. “You big clown! Don’t be so quick to jump on anything or anybody. Even a bear has some rights that you are bound to respect. ”

“ There was a wide channel between this huge berg and the nearest field of ice. Flocks of Arctic sea birds rose whirring beneath the flying boat. On the edge of the ice they saw two solemn looking polar bears fishing for seals. Sea lions played on one shelving beach of ice.
“Farewell to the giant iceberg!” shouted Ned, as the Winged Arrow left the mountain of crystal behind. “I hope I don’t see any ice again for a year—not even next summer! B-r-r-r! Shall we ever be really warm again?” ”

“ The opinions of sightseers who came to stare were as amusing as they were often silly. It seemed to be the consensus of these opinions that Tom Swift never intended to try to fly the huge boat, but that it was merely a “stock jobbing” scheme. It was told that stock in the Swift Construction Company was being sold at fabulous prices on the strength of this flying boat that was doomed to failure.
“Gee!” ejaculated Ned Newton, hearing this, “I wish it was as easy to sell shares in a bona fide invention as these people seem to think it is in a fake. Money would be easy enough to raise.” ”

“ Altogether a less determined fellow than Tom Swift would possibly have been tempted to abandon his plans—at least, for the time being. But the young inventor was utterly given up to the building of the flying boat, and nothing but personal disaster would have stopped him.
The work did go on apace, after all. Tom’s energy and ingenuity were sufficient for the accomplishment of a deal that might seem impossible to men much older than himself. As his plans developed for the flying boat, he worked harder and for longer hours. Mary declared that he even neglected her. ”

“ Damon, “that is a true word you said, Ned Newton. Why, anybody who has anything to do with Tom Swift is bound to get into the most exciting situations——”
“Listen to him!” cried Tom.
“We know who is the person who manages to get into trouble without any help,” declared Mr. Nestor laughing. “I certainly am obliged to Brother Damon for taking me to the Arctic. It has restored my health. I feel like another man again. ”

“ Besides, the speed and altitude indicators were here. Like every other plane, the Winged Arrow was a “one-mind” machine. A single individual must govern it all.
But, as Tom had long since pointed out, in testing flying machines of all sizes, for safety’s sake, there should be a second man in the cockpit of even a monoplane. In handling this huge plane it would be a reckless thing for only one man to be at the steering and other gear. A second must always be at hand to jump in and take charge if anything happened to the chief steersman, or pilot. ”

“ This had so disarranged the balance of the boat that her management was most difficult, especially in this narrow chasm.
Another sharp turn in the valley of ice loomed before them. Below, Tom saw that the bottom of the gorge was comparatively smooth for some distance. If they could make a fair landing, they might be able to repair the pontoon and then rise on even keel again.
He quickly signaled Brannigan, who shut down the motors. The roar of them ceased almost at once. The great flying boat sank to rest in the heart of the giant iceberg. ”

“ Without a flying boat, how may one fly over the falls and escape the dangers of the rapids?”
“Good! Good!” exclaimed Mr. Barton Swift. “I see you have been thinking this thing out, at least. A great many people have excuses for what they want to do; but you, Tom, have a reason. What else?”
Tom Swift laughed again. He was a boyish fellow, in spite of all his experiences of the past [Pg 3] few years; and a boy finds it difficult at most times to take older people into his confidence, especially about his dreams and hopes. ”

“ Damon. But why don’t you go right along and get the treasure chest alone?” Tom asked.
“Bless my brassbound luggage!” cried Mr. Damon. “Go alone to Iceland? I don’t believe I could ever find it!”
The Swifts laughed at that joke; but Tom continued to shake his head. And it was a most decided shake, at that.
“Iceland is perfectly civilized. The only danger you run is being cheated by hotel keepers and travelers’ agents.”
“But, Tom, the treasure!”
“You don’t even know how much it is,” chuckled the young inventor. “Perhaps it isn’t large enough to divide in half even! ”

“ Nestor was in very capable hands, for the eccentricities of Wakefield Damon did not keep him from being a loyal friend and a jolly traveling companion.
As Mr. Barton Swift said, Tom ate, slept, and lived flying boat! Nothing else in the world seemed just then of so much importance as the building of the Winged Arrow, which was the name Tom had selected for the seaplane.
“If the craft accomplished the speed Tom expects, she will be well named,” the elder Swift said in confidence to Ned Newton. ”

“ The great hull of the seaplane certainly did not balance.
Whether Tom drove the mechanism fast or slow, the rolling continued. No matter how strongly the structure was built, such wrenching must of necessity in time wreck the seaplane.
They were now a mile or more high in the air. If the plane fell apart at this altitude there would not be the smallest hope of escape for any of her crew. Tom had tried to descend, but she seemed to roll worse on a downward than on an upward slant.
“Brannigan! Make use of that pump!” Tom shouted through the tube. ”

“ If, under the thrust of her powerful motors, she went head on into one wall or the other of the cañon, Tom was pretty sure that the Winged Arrow would never get out of the heart of this giant iceberg.
“If we leave both the plane and Mr. Damon’s treasure here in the ice, we shall certainly have [Pg 190] to mark this venture down as a total loss,” murmured Tom, to his chum.
“Huh! we won’t mark anything down,” replied Ned. “We will have a hot time ever getting to land. Don’t forget that.”
“I am not likely to overlook it,” confessed the young inventor. ”

“ The first movement of the big flying boat attracted the attention of the crowd of onlookers as well as the soldiery and the excited civilian that had put in such a ridiculous claim for possession of Tom Swift’s newest invention. Those gathered in the pilot room of the seaplane could see everyone hurrying to get out of the expected course of the Winged Arrow. ”

“ Damon.
“Fire,” declared the man promptly.
“And fire in an iceberg is not a common thing. Over there is the crevasse where we lost your poor brother and his boy. Bless my icepick! but there is something strange about this.”
“We will go see,” declared the captain.
He hurried for a coil of rope and a rifle. Unnoticed by the others, the giant seaman and his employer climbed the slope of the ice mountain. Tom and his helpers were overhauling the airtight pontoon that swung from the left wing of the flying boat. This was the part injured by the latest collision. ”

“ He was sure that Monsieur Polansky had never obtained his credentials from the Navy Department by fair means and that there would be no real trouble awaiting him when he got back to Shopton.
He smiled upon Ned, who stood beside him, and began to wheel the flying boat till her nose pointed to the east. Somewhere in that direction—so far away that he could not see it—lay Iceland.
“What is that?” demanded Mr. Wakefield Damon suddenly. “Look at that smoke. Why, you’d think that ice mountain was a crater of a volcano! Bless my smokepipes! it is the equal of old Mount Hekla.” ”

“ Tom said sharply. “I’ve seen you before. This car from their garage?”
“He comes from it, the Norwalk garage,” interposed the strange man who was now rescuing sundry bundles and bags from the interior of the car. “The car, it is mine. My other driver leaf me in one lurch, you say, no? This fellow—ah-ha! He is a low-life. It is not gasoline he buy for the car, but bad whisky for himself.” ”

“ Then, after getting a supply of gasoline and oil, the latter made another jump-off.
“The old plane is doing you proud, Tom!” [Pg 208] cried Ned, when they were in the air again. “Just keep away from icebergs, and I feel sure you will have no trouble with her. But believe me! if you take another flight into the Arctic, you can count me out.”
In several ways the wonderful voyage of the Winged Arrow had never been equaled by any flying boat. Her long jump over the Atlantic proved her to be a unique craft. She could remain in the air at her pilot’s will. ”

“ Therefore Tom had trained Ned Newton for just this emergency. Ned had learned with the inventor himself as the Winged Arrow was building how to handle the gears which controlled all the movements of the plane. He could start, stop, raise, lower, and otherwise control the huge machine about as well as Tom himself.
But on this maiden trip Tom allowed nobody save himself to touch the mechanism in the bow of the boat.
When the craft had gained speed enough on the surface of the lake Tom lifted her nose cautiously and, in a minute, sent her sliding skyward. ”

“ Although Tom was courageous, he was never reckless. He had accepted Mary’s challenge on the instant. But it was not without thought.
“The moment I read that cablegram from Karofsen I saw what it meant,” he told Ned. “The Winged Arrow can go where no vessel can sail. If she arrives at Reykjavik in good condition, she can sweep the whole of the Greenland Sea, back and forth, until the berg on which the men were cast away is found. If Karofsen is honest——”
“That is a chance, too,” retorted Ned. “It looks fishy to me, Tom.” ”